The general consensus seems to be that the marketing of videotapes which contain the same material as a book either before, or at the same time, that the book is published really weakens the market for a book. You really need to sell 1500 to 2000 copies of a book to make the huge production worthwhile. With the recent release of 3 videotapes full of material by Jerry Andrus, and the reissue of his older books and lectures by Chazpro, do you think enough people will buy a big Jerry Andrus book (like my Dingle or Hamman books) to make it all worthwhile? :confused:

To be brutally honest: while my respect and admiration for Jerry Andrus is boundless, I believe that I would think twice before purchasing. While I agree that a "big" book of his material is deserved, the fact that I own most of his original books and manuscripts would make me think that there may be something else on which I could spend my "magic buck." It's for this reason that I haven't (yet) purchased the new Eugene Burger book, the Michael Ammar compilation or the Paul Harris A of A books. I'm aware that there is some new material in these tomes. However, as I own all of the original books, I'm forced to weigh between a book made up primarily of something I already own, or something different that may catch my eye. Such is the dilemma of the onslaught of magical material these days. Now, if I had an unlimited supply of money...

The book I'm waiting for is the "big" Harvey Rosenthal opus. This man's card and coin work is phenominal -- you can get a taste of it in the Pallbearers Review, Epilogue and Packet Switches 3, but that's from 25 years ago. He's just gotten better and better.

The Andrus Book would have to entail everything that it NOT shown or suggested by the existing videos and other available books. My approach would be to reveal the man-behind-the-curtain-of-creativity; to show other aspects of his eccentricity and originality--his house (Castle of Chaos), his brother, his poetry, his other interests...including the making of optical illusions. Furthermore, the book would have to be interesting and entertaining to non-magicians. This is a tall order and my neck hurts peering upward...

Otherwise, the project is now in Developement Limbo...and as originally conceived, not a marketable project at this time...

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:You really need to sell 1500 to 2000 copies of a book to make the huge production worthwhile... ...do you think enough people will buy a big Jerry Andrus book (like my Dingle or Hamman books) to make it all worthwhile? :confused:

Maybe it would be possible to sell a limited edition for a few more bucks, say two or three times the price of a regular book. This way you wouldn't have to sell more then 500-667 books worldwide.

Hmmmm...let me see... since I haven't bought the Andrus tapes (yet), I'd have a choice between $90 for a select portion of Jerry's material and thoughts on video versus $45 for a nice big hardcover book with probably 4 times the material and I can read it anywhere at my leisure.

I think you can probably guess where I stand on the books versus video thread. :cool:

You can put me down for a copy...And I think Jon is right when he talks of a book on Andrus' background etc...that would be fascinating!...Also, I am sure he has literally thousands more ideas, that haven't being released yet

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:The general consensus seems to be that the marketing of videotapes which contain the same material as a book either before, or at the same time, that the book is published really weakens the market for a book.[snip]... do you think enough people will buy a big Jerry Andrus book... to make it all worthwhile?

Richard,As much as I love the Dingle book I have to say that if ther material was on (quality) video and I already had it I'd have to pass on the book.HOWEVER... if the book were more like the Vernon Chronicles, or Kort I'd purchase it anyway to read rather that to study. Jerry is one of the great mysteries of magic and a book about him would be interesting without a single trick in it.

I have no real interest in performing most of Jerry's magic (ok, I'd do acupressure) simply because it isn't suited to my personality or the way I handle things.

A book with chapters about his optical illusions and unique stuff like "the endless octave" would be thrilling. Throw in a few new unpublished effects and the Kaufman touch on some accessible, classic Andrus and I think I have to buy.

I would have to agree with Jon and others about a kind of "biography" about Jerry Andrus. It would let us all peer into the mind of this great man. In his videos you get the odd snippet about how he comes up with his ideas and inventions, but a more detailed account would be fascinating.